Father Knows Best
by Dibble
Summary: A 16-year-old Connor has had an argument with his girlfriend. Can Angel pick up the pieces? Course he can!


Title: Father Knows Best  
Author: Dibble  
Summary: A 16-year-old Connor has a fight with his girlfriend. Can Angel pick up the pieces? Course he can!  
  
A/N: Connor was never taken to Quortoth. Angel is human. There is the slightest bit of Cordy/Angel, but not enough to piss off anyone who doesn't like that.  
  
Disclaimer: Here's the plan: I marry Joss, then divorce him and get the rights to `Angel` in the proceedings. It's a foolproof plan, right? Right?  
  
Dedication: My friends Buffy and Wiccasweep. Check 'em out, they're great! And, of course, to Vincent Kartheiser. I may not be able to pronounce his surname, but I still love him!  
  
A/N 2: This is my first fic, so I really want feedback. Constructive criticism, flames, hero worship - it's all good. But if you do flame, at least have the balls to sign it.  
  
Father Knows Best  
  
It was a dark, stormy night, but Connor didn't mind. The weather matched his mood. He stomped up to the Hyperion's doors, swung them open and slammed them behind him. The noise resounded around the empty foyer. He silently cursed himself. He had meant to be quiet, not wanting anyone to hear him come in. Now they would all know.  
  
Not wanting a confrontation he ran upstairs, not even stopping to say 'Hi'. He didn't want to take his bad mood out on anyone and he was afraid he might. He slammed his bedroom door. Dammit, he thought, why do I keep doing that? He flopped onto his bed and sighed, knowing it was only a matter of time before his father came to find him.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Angel's head jerked up as he heard the door slam. He looked at the clock. It read 7.07 p.m. Connor said he wouldn't be home 'till 9.00pm. Why is he back so early? He mused.  
  
Concerned, he ran up the stairs to his son's bedroom and knocked on the door.  
  
"Connor, honey," he said quietly. "Can I come in?"  
  
"No!" Came the angry reply.  
  
Angel smiled in spite of himself. 260 years ago, when he was Connor's age, he would've been beaten for speaking to his father like that. But Angel was more than happy to bear the brunt of his son's bad moods. After all, if you can't take your bad mood out on your parents who can you take it out on? Was his attitude. He knocked again.  
  
"Pretty please?"  
  
The reply was muffled, but it sounded an awful lot like 'Go to hell'. Angel's grin grew wider.  
  
"Already been. Don't fancy going back; too hot for my liking." He heard Connor snigger. Now or never, he told himself as he opened the door.  
  
Connor rolled over to face his father. "Sorry." He announced. "I didn't mean to snap."  
  
"No problem," replied Angel as he sat himself on the bed next to Connor. "So..... d'you wanna tell me what's up?  
  
Connor sat up and shrugged. "Mayb-" he started to say. But he couldn't finish. His throat closed up and his eyes burned with unshed tears. Then he started to cry.  
  
Angel sat there and watched his son sobbing. He looked so young, so innocent, so..... afraid.  
  
He pulled Connor towards himself and wrapped his arms around his son, one hand rubbing his back.  
  
"It's okay, let it all out." He whispered as Connor buried his face into his father's shoulder. "It's all gonna be okay."  
  
"Do its dot!" Came Connor's muffled reply. He sat up, breathed deeply a couple of times, and closed his eyes. When he was sure he couldn't cry any more, he re-opened them and continued:  
  
"It's Lily. I- I think she just..... broke up with me." He had been wrong. He started to cry again, sobs racking his small body. Looking at him now, no one would think he'd staked his first vampire at the age of six. He looked like a cute, skinny 16-year-old boy. Which he is, Angel reminded himself.  
  
"Hey, now, it can't be all that bad. What happened?"  
  
"Sh- she said 'Maybe we're not so great together after all' and then she w- walked away!"  
  
"People say things they don't mean in the heat of the moment. You must've been having a fight, what was it about?"  
  
"I'm not really sure to be honest. We've both been in such bad moods lately, I guess we were just taking it out on each other. I didn't mean anything I said....." he trailed off, his voice thick with tears.  
  
"Why've you been in a bad mood lately?" Asked Angel, concerned.  
  
"I dunno," Connor shrugged. "Just have." Angel stared at him intently.  
  
"Anything you wanna tell me?" He could read his son like Wesley could read books, and he knew there was something he wasn't letting on.  
  
Connor purposefully avoided eye contact. Just say `No`, he told himself. But he couldn't lie to his father. He wasn't even sure he knew how. He looked up.  
  
"Yes." He paused. "I'm afraid." Angel stared at him, concerned. He continued, "I'm afraid of what I am, of what my purpose is." He sighed deeply. "I'm afraid I might be evil." Yet again he averted his eyes.  
  
"Connor," Angel began. "Believe me when I say this: you are NOT evil." He paused. "There's no way you could be."  
  
"How do you know that?" Connor whispered. "How can you be so sure?" His voice grew louder. "My mother was, you used to be." He was yelling now. "I was never supposed to happen! I'm not supposed to exist!" His voice dropped back down to a whisper. "I just wish I knew for certain that my purpose on this earth is for good."  
  
There was a silence as Angel digested this information. Then he spoke.  
  
"Listen. If you weren't meant to be born, you wouldn't've been born. Okay? You were a miracle. I mean, come on, your birth was prophesised! How many people can say that?" He leant forward. "If you hadn't been born, I would still be a vampire." He leant back again.  
  
" Huh?" Connor looked up, confused, the tears in his eyes forgotten.  
  
"You turned me human."  
  
"No, Dad, that was the Powers That B-"  
  
"No, that's not what I meant. They only made me human 'cause I was acting like a human. And I was acting like a human 'cause of you. You made me feel human. My little miracle." There were tears in Angel's eyes now. There was a moments silence, then Connor smiled and broke it by declaring:  
  
"You are such a sap!"  
  
Angel grinned and ruffled his son's hair.  
  
"Yeah, well," he muttered in mock annoyance. "That's your fault too." He turned serious. "Now, do you know what you have to do?"  
  
Connor suddenly remembered what had started this conversation in the first place. "You mean..... I have to apologise to Lily?! This is so unfair! Y'know, it was just as much her fault as it was mine. She was the one who-"  
  
"Son," Angel said, interrupting Connor's ramblings. "Let me tell you a little something about women." Try as he might, Connor could not stop the look of terror the crossed his face. The last time his dad had uttered those words it had involved Fred drawing diagrams. He shuddered. Never again, he promised himself.  
  
"Take Cordelia and me for example," he continued, ignoring the ever-growing look of horror on his son's face. "Has Ms. Chase ever been the first one to apologise after a fight?" Connor relaxed and shook his head. Angel carried on. "No. You know why?"  
  
"Ooh, yeah I do. She said it's 'cause it's always your fault. And that you're stupid."  
  
"She WHAT?!!!" He composed himself. "Well, anyway, it's not. It's because she has too much pride. I bet Lily's the same. Ergo, you be the one to say sorry first."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Do it."  
  
"But I-"  
  
"DO IT!"  
  
"Jeez, okay, okay!" Connor exlaimed, putting up his hands in an `I surrender` gesture. He got up and walked over to the door. He paused, then turned back to face Angel.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
He paused. "Thanks. For everything."  
  
Angel smiled. "Right back at ya, buddy.  
  
Connor returned the smile. And with that he ran out of the room, almost sending Cordelia flying.  
  
"Where the hell is he going in such a hurry?" She grumbled. Her eyes widened to saucers. "Oh God," she said. "You didn't try to give him your facts of life speech again, did you?"  
  
"Huh? No! Wait, what was wrong with my facts of life speech?"  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "Diagrams." Was all she said.  
  
"Hey, that was Fred's idea. Anyway, if I'd known she was gonna be so graphic-"  
  
She laughed. "Poor Connor. He looked terrified. I don't think demonstrating with fruit helped much....." She made her way across the room and sat next to Angel on the bed. They sat in silence for a moment, then Angel spoke.  
  
"Cordy?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"D'you really think I'm stupid?"  
  
THE END  
  
Hope you liked it! Please review or I'll think nobody liked it and fall into a state of depression (I have self-esteem issues). 


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